The use of rating scales as a way to encourage child-care centers and preschools to improve their programs continues to grow in popularity across the states, even as researchers say states need to do more to share what they find and to demonstrate whether rating systems improve learning.

New research finds that many countries consistently produce a higher percentage of girls with elite math skills than the United States does, which it attributes to a tendency in American society to discourage girls from pursuing those studies.

To tap into the large pool of potential teachers outside the field, policymakers should rethink the training and recruitment of midcareer professionals and address pay and working conditions, a new report suggests.